安徽三联学院外语学院美国文学课件Chapter 21 Arthur Miller.ppt

Arthur Miller Context Character list Morals Plot Summary Won the Pulitzer Prize; The first great American tragedy; Understood the deep essence of the United States; The painful conflicts within one family, also tackles larger issues regarding American national values. Character List Willy Linda Charley Bernard Biff Happy Howard Ben Willy: A character with weakness: unrealistic, false pride, yet he has been in pursuit of dignity and loves his family Linda:? patient, considerate, practical , loves her husband. Biff: fake, phony, liar to his father, ambivalent to his father Happy: selfish, dreaming, lived in Biff’s shadow all of his life, but he compensates by professional ambition, represents Willy’s sense of self-importance, ambition, and blind servitude to societal expectations. Charley: next-door neighbor. Charley owns a successful business . Willy is jealous of Charley’s success. Charley gives Willy money to pay his bills, and Willy reveals at one point that Charley is his only friend. Bernard:? Bernard is Charley’s son and an important, successful lawyer. Although Willy used to mock Bernard for studying hard. Bernard’s success is difficult for Willy to accept because his own sons’ lives do not measure up. Ben:? Willy’s wealthy older brother. Ben has recently died and appears only in Willy’s “daydreams.” Willy regards Ben as a symbol of the success that he so desperately craves for himself and his sons. Howard:? Willy’s boss, “a masterful man” and “a prince.” Though much younger than Willy, Howard treats Willy with condescension and eventually fires him. Themes The American Dream. Different versions of American dream 1) Willy’s: be liked by people 2) Ben’s: be adventurous and get rich 3) Charley and his son: “only thing you’ve got in the world is what you can sell” 2. Abandonment. Willy’s life charts a course from one abandonment to the next, leaving him in greater despair each time. 3. Betrayal. Willy’s primary obsession throug